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After Duke’s three positive reactions, Jenna’s stomach tightened. She nodded at Wolfe. “You go ahead. I’m going to keep an eye on Mr. Lyons and his friends.” She rested one hand on her weapon and noticed the somber reaction from the men at the table. The need to question them and drag out the information about Chrissie’s last hours welled up inside her and she pushed it down. She wanted to split them up, question them about Chrissie, and have every word from their mouths recorded on tape.
Moving her attention from one man to the next, she made a mental note of those who refused to meet her gaze. Her skin crawled. Two or more of the men sitting a few feet from her could be serial rapists but she’d need a whole lot more evidence to prove it. For now, she’d concentrate on asking them questions about the Devon and Jacobs cases.
As Kane and Wolfe headed up the stairs to search the bedrooms, she pulled out her notebook and took down the names of everyone at the table. She had two possible homicide cases to solve and most of the people of interest were sitting in front of her. “Okay, I’m going to be asking you questions in relation to the deaths of your housemates.” She looked at Josh Stevens. “When did you last see Pete Devon?”
“About an hour after dinner yesterday, he went to do his laps in the pool. He did the same thing every night since his injury.” Josh shrugged. “Why?”
Jenna made a note. “It’s just routine inquiries; we are trying to establish the time of death.” She lifted her chin. “Which one of you would be his closest friend?”
“That would be me.” Dylan Court gave her a discontented look.
The hostility toward her around the table was palpable, and she cleared her throat. “Didn’t you think it was a bit strange when he didn’t come home last night?”
“Nope.” Court chuck
led. “We come and go as we please. I don’t give a f— fig if any of us stay out all night. I figured he’d got lucky.”
The young men around the table chuckled in agreement. Jenna made a few notes. “Did he or Alex Jacobs have any enemies? Did he have a disagreement with anyone lately?”
“You do know we’re on the football team, right?” Lyons gave her a condescending glare. “Of course they had enemies. Any member of the teams we beat last season could have a beef against one of us. If you’re talking about enemies from college, sure. Some of the guys get angry when we steal their girls, but hey, we always give them back after.”
Jenna wanted to wipe the smirk right off his arrogant face. “After what exactly, Mr. Lyons?”
“What do you figure, Sheriff?” Lyons looked her up and down. “I’m sure a fine lady like yourself has had her fair share of one-night stands.” He shrugged. “None of us are planning to settle down; we’re here to play football and have fun.”
Jenna ignored Lyons’ rudeness. “Anything else?”
“We don’t walk away from fights on campus.” Court gave her a long, steady look. “If some guy wants to cause trouble, we deal with it.”
“Like the fight with Owen Jones?”
“Exactly.” Court shrugged.
“That’s why the dean asked you to leave the student hall, I believe?” Jenna stared back at him. “How about stepping up and giving me some names of these people with grievances against you?”
“Nope.” Lyons frowned. “We don’t throw people under the bus.”
At that moment, Kane came down the stairs with Wolfe close behind. They had a number of evidence bags between them. Jenna turned to Kane and raised her eyebrows in question. “Are we done here?”
“Yeah.” Kane held up an evidence bag stuffed with women’s panties. “I found these in Seth Lyons’ room. In a nightstand containing his belongings.”
“So what?” Lyons barked out a laugh. “So I keep the panties of the girls I sleep with—big deal. There’s no crime in that. I didn’t steal them; they gave them to me for my collection.”
“You ready to come clean about Chrissie Lowe being here the night she died?” Kane moved to Jenna’s side.
“You hard at hearing or something? I already told you, she didn’t show on Saturday night.” Lyons waved a hand around the table. “Ask the guys or read my lips. She. Wasn’t. Here.”
“Well, Mr. Lyons.” Wolfe leaned on the table and eyeballed him. “Our sniffer dog sure found her scent, and if I find her DNA on any of these items, we’ll know you’re lying.”
Jenna wanted to grin but smothered it with a cough, then Lyons threw out a curveball.
“Ah, Sheriff.” Lyons’ face split into a wide grin. “I didn’t say I’d never had sex with her or that she hadn’t been here before. I said she wasn’t here the night she died.”
Twenty-Seven
It was dark by the time Colt Webber drove his truck along the winding driveway to Lyons’ house. His headlights picked up a sign saying “Visitors’ parking” and he pulled up on the gravel. His heart pounded with misgivings at the idea of walking into the lions’ den—or should it be Lyons’ den? He carried no weapon, and if Jenna’s suspicions proved true, he might become the next victim from the football team the moment Lyons discovered he’d been a cop. A prickling sensation walked over his flesh as he looked around at the dense woodland setting. It was a perfect place for an ambush.
He gathered his courage and stared through the trees. In the distance, he could clearly pick out the house. Light shone from every window and he could see people moving around inside. The winding cement walkway to the front porch appeared to be new, but the lighting in the parking area and along the path to the house was zero. Trees formed a canopy and no moonlight was visible to offer a modicum of illumination. A shiver slid down his spine and he couldn’t imagine anyone would enjoy walking through the spooky darkness alone. After gathering his iPad, he slipped from his truck and made his way down the dark walkway using the light on his cellphone to find his way.
